The Secret's In The Telling
by JollyMyRoger
Summary: Hook's in the hospital after being hit by a car and Emma needs to ask him a question. A/N - Writen Beta-less and this is my first attempt at angst stuff AKA please don't maul me.


10:38PM_

"Letting him die is easy." Dr. Whale stated with a cruel detachment, or maybe it just sounded cruel to Emma.

"It'd also be easy for me to shoot you in the face and let you die, wouldn't it, Whale?" Emma snapped back.

"Emma, what is..." Snow started then, spotting a certain look in her daughter's eyes, switched targets, "That is completely out of line, Whale. We are not just going to let someone die."

Whale let out a defeated sigh, "Look, besides the injuries from the car, which are nasty, his x-rays are also showing trauma to his rib cage that aren't consistent with that. It looks like he was beaten with something like a thin pipe with a deformed top not long before he got hit." He chewed on his words for a second before reluctantly finishing this delivery of bad news, "There's also a bruise that looks just like the top of a cane..."

"Why, why are you telling us this?" Snow asked, now that she was on Hook's side she was prepared for Whale to try and get them to let Hook die again.

"Because that's assault, I'm the sheriff, and the only person in town with a cane and a reason to beat Hook with it is Gold," Emma rubbed her face and finished with a groan. "I'm going to go get the rest of the story out him."

"I'm heading home. Henry will be going nuts wanting news and Archie could use some sleep," Snow told Emma's retreating back before hurrying towards the stairs.

As Whale started to move off, Emma called his named and stopped him. He turned towards her with the best worried look he could muster, hoping it'd soften her anger over his earlier proposal. It hadn't.

"Whale, help Hook. Really help him. Your best damn effort. And if he dies and I think you didn't give your best effort, I will make sure that Gold isn't the only person walking with a cane anymore," Emma stated with a cold certainty that turned Whale's worried look genuine and sent him hurrying off as she turned around and walked off in search of Gold.

5:16 AM_

Killian woke up to harsh white light, strange noises, and a sense of wrongness. He wasn't in his own clothes, he wasn't in his ship, he wasn't sure he was anywhere at all. Maybe he had finally gotten what he wanted when he dove into that metal monstrosity that was hurtling down the road after he fired that contraption at Belle. Maybe he was finally dead. That hopeful theory held up until he tried to move his legs, he succeeded and was rewarded for his effort with a wave of mind numbing pain that made him give out a small cry of pain. He blinked rapidly in shock and the world came back into focus: the ceiling was some sort of white tile, the walls were plain gray, he was in some sort of bed that was raised off the ground, there were more strange contraptions on his right that were connected to him with smooth little colored ropes, and on his left was a chair with someone sitting in it.

Killian squeezed his eyes shut; trying to focus his vision through the fog that still clouded his mind. When he opened his eyes again he was sure he had wandered into some strange dream, the someone sitting by his bed was the Swan girl, Emma. She was wiping the sleep out of her eyes, most likely trying to figure out what had woke her up. He so loved seeing little glimpses of her like this, when she was unguarded towards the world, and he couldn't admit to himself why. He let out a breath that shuddered slightly and quite unintentionally carried her name on it like a secret. But her clever ears caught it anyway.

"Killian," Emma said with a little relieved sigh, why did his heart trip a beat when she used his true name? "I was worried you were going to die in your sleep or something.

"Please, love, I'm a pirate. I'd never go out in such a piss way as in my sleep," he replied with a weak smile that she didn't return.

Emma looked down as her hands, her walls already back up, "So...you probably shot Belle and kept Archie hostage. Archie won't press charges and the gun Gold says you shot Belle with is who the hell knows where and she doesn't even remember being shot so charging you on tha-"

"Love," Killian interrupted, "I know where I am as well as I know what you're saying."

She sighed and buried her face in her hands, Killian was clueless as to what was wrong as just simply lay there until she spoke again, "You're in a hospital, it's where we take people when they get really sick or hurt. I was saying that you're not going to go to jail. I'm not going to lock you up again, Killian."

Killian tried to start with some witty remark when Emma finally voiced the thought that was plaguing her, "Did you throw yourself in front of the car?"

Neither of them moved for a very long moment, both stuck in the aftermath of her question with Emma staring straight into his eyes and Killian's vision fixed on a point just over her head. Finally, a tear managed to break free from Killian's eye and unfreeze them, Killian whispered a quiet yes and Emma grasped his wrist. Her left hand met the bare, scarred flesh where his wrist should have continued into his and she didn't even flinch, the first person who had ever not reacted when they saw his plain arm.

"Why, Killian?" she asked, her voice tight.  
Killian swallowed hard before responding, "Because she's gone and I'm lost. And that won't change."

At his response Emma's other hand jumped immediately to his head, her hand running through his hair, "And where does that leave you now?"

He finally met her eyes and simply let out a breath. But once again she heard the secret in it, this one meant just for her, the one that brought tears to her eyes. And the secret was "With you."


End file.
